The Beasts of Karn
The Beasts of Karn is the eighth episode of Buzz Lightyear of Star Command. It first aired on October 10, 2000, and is the tenth episode in production. Synopsis Team Lightyear travels to Karn - a jungle world filled with dangerous predators - to find out why they lost contact with research scientist Dr. Ozma Furbanna. While there, Booster is captured by con man Rentwhistle Swack, who has been poaching animals and selling them to hunters. Booster manages to send an SOS to Buzz, and Team Lightyear arrives to save him just as a group of hunters are about to kill him. Swack and the other poachers are then forced to work on Karn helping Ozma as part of their punishment, while Ozma takes a liking to Buzz and invites him to drop by next time he's in the area. Plot The episode starts with 42 approaching the planet Karn, while Buzz tries to make contact with the Karn bio-station but gets no reply. He tells his team it's been three months since they last had contact, and that Star Command wants to know what's happened. While the star cruiser is flying over the jungle, a pterodactyl-like creature lunges at the viewport and Buzz narrowly misses hitting it. Unfortunately, the creature crashes into 42's positioning antenna and breaks it off, much to Booster's dismay. Buzz is unperturbed, despite XR's remark that "no antenna means no navigation", and when Booster asks how they're going to land, he replies, "By the seat of our pants." Buzz continues to try to contact the Karn bio-station, but there's still no response. He expresses concern for the research scientist, though he can't remember her name. Mira informs him that her name is Dr. Ozma Furbanna, and that she's one of the most honoured animal research scientists in the galaxy. XR scornfully replies that he can't understand why anyone who can't be reassembled would want to live on a planet full of carnivores. As if to prove his point, more of the pterodactyl-like creatures begin attacking the ship, this time ripping off parts of the wings. XR tells Buzz that they've lost pressure on the starboard flight wing, and the ship begins to lose stability. Buzz grows worried, while XR sarcastically asks what everyone wants on their tombstones. Buzz continues to struggle to control the ship, and to his annoyance a giant bug crashes into the viewport, leaving a slimy mess of legs and eyeballs which Buzz tries to wipe away with the windscreen wipers. Unfortunately, the ship is out of viewport cleaning fluid, meaning Buzz has to land the ship with impaired visibility. He crashes the cruiser into a lake, and it skirts across the water for several moments before coming to a rest. The rangers exit through the launch tubes - though Booster is momentarily unable to fit through - and they land on the lakeshore. When Booster lands, he begins sinking into the mud. Buzz tells the team they need to find Dr. Furbanna, since it will be getting dark soon. Booster struggles to break free of the mud and finally uses his jetpack to shoot upwards. He becomes wedged in a tree, where he remarks that he's going to like this mission because of all the animals. Buzz pulls him down and warns him that he mustn't take any of them as pets. Booster suddenly hears loud footsteps and points to some rustling vegetation. Buzz and Mira get into defensive positions, while XR hides. What appears to be a giant robot pushes through the bushes. Buzz quickly states that he and his team come in peace, but the only response he gets is a feminine voice telling him, "You're going to leave in pieces." Buzz replies that they're space rangers, and he's Buzz Lightyear. The robot's head slides up, revealing the face of a human woman, who apologizes, saying she thought they were poachers. She tells them to follow her, and begins hacking her way through the jungle. Mira tells Buzz that the woman is Dr. Furbanna, and the team follows her. Predators begin chasing them, and Mira decides they will have to take the creatures down. Before she can fire her wrist laser, however, Dr. Furbanna stops her and points out that the planet is a wildlife preserve, and the creatures are only following their natural instinct to feed. Mira sarcastically replies that she's simply following her natural instinct not to be food. Ozma simply ignores the ranger and slashes her way to a clearing, where the bio-station is located. She opens the door, and the team leaps inside, narrowly escaping a tentacled creature which tries to get in. Ozma then shuts the hatch. XR asks incredulously why Ozma is trying to save these "horrible creatures." In reply, Ozma tells him that preservation isn't just about saving the cute ones - and that those were the cute ones. The real killers come out at night. "It gets worse?" is Mira's shocked answer. While Ozma is removing her environmental suit, Mira asks what she did to deserve such a terrible assignment. Ozma replies that she requested it. Her suit folds away, revealing that she has a very attractive figure. Buzz and XR stare, and XR almost overheats. Ozma grudgingly tells them they'll have to stay the night, which gets XR excited. He tells her that if they need to conserve body heat, he has "multiple settings", though Ozma merely ignores him. She says to Buzz that he can fix his ship in the morning and leave, but he replies that they came to Karn to see if she was alright, and asks why she hasn't responded to communications from Star Command. Ozma tells him that communications are down, and she hasn't had time to make repairs because she's been trying to stop the poachers. Mira doesn't understand why anyone would tangle with such dangerous animals, but Ozma tells her there's a lot of money to be made in poaching. While she speaks, some small creature with multiple eyeballs keeps popping up from Booster's suit. Buzz grows suspicious, but continues listening to Ozma who is shaking XR and saying she wants to make the poachers an endangered species. Telling her not to worry, Buzz says, "When trouble calls, call in a ranger." Ozma dryly replies that she can handle the situation herself. Meanwhile, Mira notices the creature in Booster's suit, and asks what he's got. He tries to deny that he has anything, but Buzz doesn't believe him. Reluctantly pulling the creature out, he begs Buzz to let him keep it, saying he'll brush it and walk it and feed it every day. Ozma tells him he'll only feed it once, because it's a Brain-Eating Skull-Borer. Booster quickly tosses it outside. Handing the team some blankets (and giving XR a cable to recharge with), Ozma wishes them all sweet dreams and tells them not to let the bed bugs bite - literally. The next morning, while the team is still sleeping, some animal begins roaring, waking them up. They rush to the door and get into defensive positions. The door opens and Ozma, in her environmental suit, steps in. She has to push back some creatures which try to follow her, and she closes the hatch. Buzz asks if she's alright, and Ozma tells him she was getting some fruit for breakfast. She gives the fruit to XR, then takes off her suit. Mira asks her how they're going to fix the cruiser with all the carnivores around, but Ozma says there's a two hour break in the animals' feeding patterns while they digest, so they can go out then. Buzz compliments her on her plan, only to get brushed off because Ozma says she doesn't need validation from him. She then tells them to watch their step when they go out - "it'll be messy." Later, during the feeding break, they take a small vehicle out to the crashed cruiser, and Buzz tells Booster and XR to begin repairs while he, Mira, and Ozma go to check on communications system. He will come back for them in two hours. Booster is eager to get started, while XR is still wary. The pair goes underwater, where XR starts welding part of the submerged hull, while Booster walks along it using magnetized boots. He suddenly spots a small eel-like creature swimming by, and he demagnetizes so he can follow it. The creature rises to the surface, and he follows, sticking his head above the water and lowering his helmet. Meanwhile, unknown to him, a small ship is hovering above, operated by Rentwhistle Swack. Swack thinks Booster is some native Karnian creature, and gleefully tells his short blue lackey that they'll make a lot of money if they can capture him. They position themselves above Booster and use a tractor beam to pull him up. He struggles, and remagnetizes his boots, which causes him to begin moving down again. The pull is too strong, however, and he is wrenched from his suit and drawn into the ship. Swack then flies away, taking Booster back to their main ship so they can price him to sell. Meanwhile, XR is unaware that Booster is gone, and asks him for a tool. When he turns around, however, he discovers that only Booster's space suit remains, much to his shock and dismay. Swack arrives at his main ship, and Booster is dropped into an energy cage. Bars slide across the top, and Booster is left with no way out. He demands to be released, and throws a bone lying in the cage at the bars. It hits one and is scorched by the energy field. When he sees Swack, he recognizes him and points out that he's a space ranger and he arrested Swack once. Swack remarks that Booster will be a tough sell, and Booster instantly objects to being sold. He mentions that Buzz will be angry, and Swack grows worried when he hears Buzz is on Karn. He tells his lackey to fire up the engines so they can leave, and to put Booster in the back of the ship so he won't interfere with their sales. Meanwhile, Buzz, Mira, and Ozma arrive at the communications outpost. They instantly see the problem - a Karnian creature called a Gut-Sucking Egg Devil has made its nest on the satellite, and is sitting there surrounded by eggs while it eats something. Buzz aims his laser at it, but Ozma pushes him away, telling him not to hurt "Jessica" - apparently she's been studying the creature ever since it burst out of its host's chest. Mira asks what Jessica is eating, and Ozma replies that it's her mate, saying, "My little girl is all grown up!" Buzz decides to boost the transmission frequency so they won't have to move Jessica. Once inside the outpost, Buzz sets to work boosting the frequency and moves it up to three hundred galactihertz. He turns on the radio, but doesn't have it on the right frequency, so he begins moving the dial. Suddenly, he picks up some odd beeps. Ozma tells him they're from her electronic tags which she uses to study animal migratory patterns. Mira remarks that the animals seem to be migrating into space, and Buzz points to a ship leaving. Ozma realizes it must be the poachers. Before they can do anything, however, XR calls in and tells them Booster's missing. They go to the lake, where they meet with XR. Mira asks what happened to Booster, and XR explains that he just disappeared, and all that's left is his suit. Mira is afraid he's been eaten, but Ozma and Buzz both rule that out because there's no evidence of a struggle. Intent on finding Booster, Buzz orders his team to begin a search. Ozma is annoyed, as she wants to go after the poachers so she can save her animals, believing them to be more important. Buzz disagrees, and Team Lightyear flies off to start their search. Unknown to them, a creature has just crawled into 42's launch tubes. Meanwhile, on Swack's ship, Booster is sitting in his cage in the cargo hold with numerous caged Karnian creatures. He glances at one and asks sarcastically what it's in for. The creature lunges at him but is held back by the energy field, which shocks it. It scratches its ear in pain, and Booster notices a flashing tag there. Realizing he could use it to call for help, he reaches through the bars and tries to grab it. The creature swipes its claws at him, so he quickly backs away. Suddenly, Swack's lackey enters to feed the animals, and Booster is given a slice of meat. Although he looks at it hungrily, he decides not to eat it and instead holds it out to the creature. He manages to grab the tag while the animal reaches for the food, and he quickly sets to work sending a transmission. On Karn, Ozma hears her communications system picking up the message, and thinks the tag's signal is breaking up. Buzz tells her it's not breaking up - the beeps are a Star Command subspace SOS. He translates it, saying Booster is trapped on the poachers' ship. Ozma is excited, because this means they can go after the poachers now. Buzz calls in to Mira, telling her and XR to meet up with him so they can go rescue Booster. Meanwhile, Swack's ship has arrived at a large space station, where three potential buyers are waiting. Swack brings them aboard his ship, showing off his animals and explaining that each one is exotic, dangerous, and ready for stuffing. While he's trying to interest them in one of the Karnian beasts, the buyers catch sight of Booster, who asks to be let out. Swack rushes over and puts a muzzle on him, saying the echo in the room makes beastly growls sound just like speech. He then continues showing off his Karnian animals, but the buyers aren't interested. Instead, they return to Booster, and one of them remarks that Booster must be a real killer to have to be muzzled. He offers four thousand unibucks to hunt him, but Swack refuses. One of the other buyers makes an offer, and Swack begins to be swayed. He offers to let them tease Booster in his cage, but the buyers merely grow angry. The largest one, a bottom feeder from Beta Bayou, threatens Swack, and he finally gives in. The other buys protest, however, saying they also want a shot at Booster. The bottom feeder suggests they have a group hunt, and they begin piling money into Swack's hands. The buyers go to get their weapons, while Swack remarks to Booster that he's "making a killing" off him. 42, meanwhile, is on its way, with Mira in Booster's seat and Ozma in the co-pilot's chair. Ozma tells Buzz the signals are still coming in loud and clear, from somewhere in the Kevhoppi sector. Buzz tells the crew to brace for hyperdrive, but suddenly a drop of slime lands on his face. He looks up and sees a slime creature on the ceiling, which Ozma says is a Karnian Slime Beast. While making a sarcastic remark, XR is grabbed by the creature and promptly disemboweled. Buzz aims his laser at it, but is yet again stopped by Ozma, who tells him Slime Beasts are very rare. Buzz ignores her, saying they have one too many Slime Beasts on the ship. He begins firing at it, but its slime coating shields it from the laser beams. Back on the space station, Booster is led by Swack's lackey to the group of hunters, and they ask for his muzzle to be removed. The lackey points out he doesn't have the key, and before they can ask Swack for it, they see his ship leave. The lackey is annoyed, grumbling that Swack didn't pay him his cut. The hunters decide to leave the muzzle on and start the hunt. The bottom feeder begins firing at Booster, who runs away. One of the other hunters breaks out a horn and blows, yelling, "Tally-ho!" On 42, the Slime Beast is still giving them trouble, and Buzz decides to try trapping the creature in the hallway behind the bridge. He tells the now dismembered XR to activate his jetpack, and the robot does so. When the jetpack fires up, the Slime Beast (which is clinging to it) goes flying into the hallway, and Buzz closes the hatch. Unfortunately, one of XR's arms crashed into the communications system when the beast was flinging his parts around, and Ozma tells them that communications are out - meaning they can't track the tags. Booster, meanwhile, is running through the space station while the hunters pursue him. The bottom feeder fires several shots, but they all miss, and one of the other hunters activates a heat-seeking spear and launches it at Booster. The Jo-Adian runs for his life, eventually coming to a stop by a waterfall that forms part of the station's water system. He hides behind the cold water and the spear wooshes past harmlessly. On 42, Buzz and Ozma discuss the communications problem, while Mira picks up something on sensors. A ship flies past them, and Buzz recognizes it as Swack's ship. He pulls the poacher over and tells him to keep his hands where he can see them. Back on the station, Booster is still hiding from the hunters, but a sudden false move causes him to crash into a wall and alert the poachers to his presence. They all point their weapons at him, but before they can make the kill Buzz appears with Team Lightyear, and the hunters are taken into custody. They return to Karn, where all the creatures are released back into their habitat. Booster asks Buzz what he's going to do with the poachers, and Swack pleads for mercy. Buzz tells Booster he has the perfect punishment for them: a little community service. He decides to leave the poachers with Ozma to help out in her work. They're all horrified, and Ozma gleefully pokes Swack with one of her environmental suit's blades. As she's walking away, Ozma turns to Buzz and tells him to drop by next time he's in the area. He salutes, telling her to consider it done. Characters *Buzz Lightyear *Mira Nova *Booster Munchapper *XR *Ozma Furbanna *Rentwhistle Swack Quotes *"XR to Buzz, XR to Buzz: It's Booster, it's Booster! He's gone, he's gone! I repeat - well, I guess I already did." -- XR *"Lady, are you saying finding your animals is more important than finding my ranger?" "Oh, sorry, what can I say? I'm just not a people person." -- an exchange between Buzz and Ozma. *"Craters. I hope it's just a tail-light out." -- Swack, after being pulled over by Buzz *"I'm going to like this mission. Listen to all those animals." -- Booster Trivia *Buzz's "no pets" rule would later play a role in "The Yukari Imprint". Errors *The jetpack button is missing from Mira's suit in several scenes. *Buzz's waist is white in one shot instead of black. Voice Actors *Dan Castellaneta as Hunter #1 and #2, Lackey, and Casey Kasemish DJ *Stephen Furst as Booster Munchapper *Linda Hamilton as Ozma Furbanna *Larry Miller as XR *French Stewart as Rentwhistle Swack *Nicole Sullivan as Mira Nova *Patrick Warburton as Buzz Lightyear *Frank Welker as Bat Creature, Slime Beast, Jessica and Stratoshrike Production Details Executive Producers: Tad Stones, Mark McCorkle, Bob Schooley Director: Steve Loter Story Editors and Written by: Ken Koonce, Michael Merton Voice Casting and Dialogue Director: Jamie Thomason Storyboard: Nicholas Filippi, Rich Chidlaw, Ryan Anthony, Fred Gonzales Timing Directors and Sheet Timing: John Kimball, Marsh Lamore Supervising Character Design: '''Greg Guler '''Character Design: Ginny Hawes, Kenny Thompkins Prop Design: Brian Brookshier, Tom Foxmarnick, Bruce Berkey Lead Background Paint: Donna Prince Key Background Stylists: Ryan Evans, Sy Thomas Key Location Design: Justin Thompson, Latchezar Gouchev Storyboard Revisions: Alan Wright Continuity Coordinator: Jim Finch Associate Producer: Natasha Kopp Production Manager: Mike Karafilis Creative Consultant from Pixar: Jeff Pidgeon Color Key Stylists: Karen Kilpatrick, Suzette Darling Digital Color Correction: Donald Devine Scanner: '''Adam Chase '''CGI Main Title: '''Pixar Animation Studios '''Music By: Adam Berry Main Title Theme By: Adam Berry Animation Production By: Wang Film Productions Co., Ltd. Animation Directors: Archer Lai, Toshy Yeh Layout Director: Chenny Chen Layout Artists: Glanda Lin, Joy Hu Background Director: Vincent Liu Background Artists: Peter Sun, Hung Hsiu Hue, Yeh Ching Liang Animators: Eagle Jeng, Lindon Jiang, Tasso Lee, Orman Hwang, Jassie Shyong, Arion Chang Supervising Film Editor: John Royer First Assistant Film Editor: Jennifer Harrison Assistant Film Editor: Tally Paulos Pre-Production Dialogue Editor: Monte Bramer Track Reading: Skip Craig Post Production Manager: Steven J. Arenas Post Production Supervisor: Rachel Pusateri Audio Supervisor: Victor Garcia Post Production Coordinator: Mark Allen Bollinger Supervising Sound Editor: Jennifer E. Mertens Sound Effects Editors: Rick Hammel, Otis Van Osten, Kenneth D. Young Sound Editor: Eric Hertsgaard Supervising Music Editor: Brian F. Mars Re-Recording Mixers: Michael Jiron, Allen Stone Supervising Music Editor: Dominick Certo On-line Editor: Keith Cook Production Coordinator: Jessika Portillo Script Coordinator: Dawn T. Connors, Carolyn Scully, Brian Sintay Production Associate: Carin Cobrae Production Secretaries: Linda DeLizza, Jessica Farley Talent Coordinator: David H. Wright III Production Accountant: Ron J. Earhart Produced By: Walt Disney Television Animation Category:Episodes